Sen. Peters introduces campaign reform legislation

Updated 10:54 am, Tuesday, September 19, 2017

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., has announced that he has cosponsored two bills to increase transparency in campaign finance and reduce the influence of special interests in Congressional elections.

The Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act would require outside groups that spend over $10,000 on election advertising, including super PACs, to disclose their donors and source of funding within 24 hours. Peters is also cosponsoring the Fair Elections Now Act which would establish citizen-funded elections to better strengthen small donors and grassroots voices. Peters previously cosponsored both bills in the 114th Congress.

"For too long, our campaign finance system has given big corporations the ability to spend millions of dollars on federal elections - silencing the voices of Michigan middle class families in the process," Peters said via email. "It should be Michiganders deciding who represents them, not corporations looking to buy influence. I'm proud to cosponsor these commonsense bills that will help increase transparency and give power back to the American people in our elections."

The disclosure report must include the sources of all donations of $10,000 or more that the organization received during that election cycle. The legislation additionally would direct the FEC and U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to share information to identify and prevent foreign election spending. The DISCLOSE Act is supported by a number of campaign finance reform stakeholders, including Public Citizen, the federation of Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), Brennan Center, League of Women Voters, People For the American Way and the Sunlight Foundation.

The Fair Elections Now Act amends the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1971 to establish a voluntary method for financing Senate campaigns. The legislation would provide qualified candidates for Congress with grants, matching funds, and vouchers from the Fair Elections Fund - which would be established by the legislation - to replace campaign fundraising that largely relies on large donors and special interests. In return, participating candidates would agree to limit their campaign spending to the amounts raised from small dollar donors plus the amounts provided from the Fund.